Club Shadow
by Tobi Phantom
Summary: Amy's POV I love clubbing, my new favorite one's downtown. The music's good, the drinks fine, but my real reason for going there is the bartender. I've got a major crush on him and tonight he's acting different. I think he likes me too. Wait, what was that scream? What happened to that man who hurt me? And why does Shadow look... dangerous?


I swayed in time to the music; pushing away anyone who tried to dance with me. I could feel my heart beating in my chest and I felt a slight buzz from the alcohol I'd already consumed. I glanced over at the bar, more specifically the bartender. He's the only reason I come to this club; I'd much rather go to the one downtown. I have to come to this one though, it's the only place I can see him._ Shadow_, I remember the day we met as if it were yesterday.

My friends had dragged me here claiming the music was better than our usual club. They were right, but I still liked ours better. While ours was bright, this one was darker. The dance floor was silver, black and blood red and a few feet off the ground; the surrounding floor was a dark brown and had wooden stairs attached to the dance floor; and there were small circular tables against the wall with plush velvet seats and candles that were always lit. The bar was smaller and looked old fashioned and vampire-like with the stone counter and black-and-red bar stools.

We had been dancing for a while before finally sitting down at the bar. I was watching my friends discuss what drinks to buy when he came over. Time seemed to slow down as I watched him walk over, brushing his black and red quills out of his face.

"Hey, I'm Shadow." His voice was a rich baritone that made me melt and his ruby eyes seemed to see right through me.

"Amy." I cheered inwardly when my voice came out even. He opened his mouth to say something when one of my friends, Rouge, butted in.

"Hey, are you the bartender? We'd like to order." I could tell by her voice that she saw him as just another guy.

Shadow nodded and focused on Rouge as she rattled off the drinks she decided we would buy. He glanced at me as he walked past and I saw something flash in his eyes. The rest of the night I was completely unfocused; all I could think about was Shadow.

I've been coming back every Saturday night since then and I've only fallen more and more in love with him. I think he feels the same, he never charges me full price for my drinks and when he hands it to me his hand always touches mine. I feel a bolt of pure energy that takes my breath away every time he looks into my eyes.

Shaking my head to rid myself of memories and focus, I started heading towards the bar. I was still dancing as I dodged swaying bodies and stepped off the dance floor. I sat down and Shadow immediately came over.

"Hello Amy, what can I get you?" His voice was different today; it was deeper and seemed to conceal hidden excitement. I smiled and gave him my order, never taking my eyes off him even as he turned around to get my drink. He always wore a long, flowing black cloak that seemed to belong in another era. It would look weird on most people but it just seemed to fit on him.

Shadow handed me my drink and I set the money on the counter; before I was able to lift my hand his came down on it. I gasped slightly at the feeling his touch invoked and jerked my head up. I stared into his jade orbs, my own eyes widening at the mixture of emotions I saw there. I saw lust, hunger, longing and love. Honestly, it kind of scared me.

"Amy, would you mind staying until the club closes? I need to talk to you." He spoke calmly but his body language showed urgency, whatever he needs to tell me must be important.

"Of course Shadow; I usually do anyway so no problem." Even I could hear the excitement and confusion in my voice. Shadow relaxed and released my hand. Another customer came up to the bar at that point and he had to go tend to them.

Excitement clawed at my stomach as I downed my drink. I squealed as my favorite song started playing and ran to the dance floor. Glancing back, I saw Shadow watching me with a smile on his face. I closed my eyes and swayed back and forth. Singing along, I wondered what Haywood wanted to talk about.

_'Maybe he's going to ask me out! Or maybe he likes another girl and wants some advice on how to ask her out. Or he's a government agent sent to spy on club-goers to see which is most suitable for some freaky experiment and he's going to kidnap me and bring me to a lab where people are gonna poke me with needles, electrocute me, and turn me into some kind of freak! Whoa, calm down girl, that's just crazy.'_

I was torn out of my thoughts when I felt someone put their hands on my hips. I turned around hoping it was Shadow but was sorely disappointed to see it was just some blue hedgehog. I curled my lip at him and pulled away.

"Come on now baby, don't be like that. Don't you wanna dance with me?" His voice was slurred and his breath reeked of alcohol; he was obviously drunk. He made another grab for me and I jumped back – right off the elevated dance floor. Instead of hitting the ground though, someone caught me. I looked up praying it was someone normal. Luckily it was a bouncer.

"Are you alright Miss?" I nodded and stood up out of his grasp. The bouncer grabbed the blue hedgehog and dragged him out of the building. I looked around to see if anyone saw what happened but it didn't look like it. Then I saw Shadow.

He looked so mad; I could practically see the smoke coming out his ears. I smiled at him, gave him my signature peace sign and watched him relax. He smiled back and motioned for me to go back to dancing. I happily obliged and danced the night away.

A few hours later and I was standing outside the club waiting for Shadow. I had come up to him when everyone started leaving but he told me to go on out; he'd be there soon. I sighed and looked around; he was taking an awful long time. Or maybe it just seems that way; it _was_ pretty creepy out here. I shivered; I was torn between staying here like he said and going back in to find him.

"Hey baby, how's it going?" I whipped my head to the side and froze in horror at what I saw. The blue hedgehog from earlier was walking towards me and no one else was around. I shook my head slightly in an attempt to rid myself of my bone-chilling fear and glared at him.

"What do you want dude?" I managed to cover up my fear with anger, "I don't have time for your crap." I took a few steps back as he swaggered up to me; he still reeked.

"Come on, we didn't get to finish what we started in the club. We can now; no one's around to stop us." I curled my lip at him and practically snarled.

"We didn't start anything. Now back off jackass."

Anger flashed in his eyes and he grabbed my arm. I managed to let out a scream before he covered my mouth with his own. He gave me a bruising kiss; his lips moving clumsily against my own. I gasped when he moved his hand to the bottom of my shirt. His hand was snaking its way up towards my breast when I kneed him in between the legs.

I turned and ran as the hedgehog fell to the ground in pain. I had gotten only half a block away before I heard him scream. It was blood-curdling and stopped me in my tracks. Against my better judgment I ran back to see what had happened. When I got back to the club the man was gone; in his place was Shadow.

"Shadow? What happened to that blue hedgehog?" I asked after I caught my breath. Shadow grabbed me and pulled me against him. I felt warmth spread through me as he held me.

"Don't worry Amy, he won't bother you again. Are you ok?" I nodded and Shadow sighed in relief. "Come on," He grabbed my hand and started dragging me behind him. "I need to talk to you." He pulled me over to a silver and black motorcycle and sat down on it before turning to face me.

"Do you trust me?" I nodded, unable to do anything else. He smiled and motioned for me to get on. I climbed on and wrapped my arms around him; I was strangely unafraid even though I knew I should be. We took off and I buried my head in Shadow's back. I could feel him vibrating as he laughed.

"Shut up." I mumbled.

We drove for a while until we reached a small house on the edge of the forest near the city. We climbed off and Shadow took my hand, leading me into what I assumed was his house. I looked around as he took me inside, admiring his taste in decoration. Everything was dark and gothic; it was beautiful. We stopped once we reached a room in the middle of the house, one with a large stone table.

"What's this?" I asked. Shadow just shushed me and laid me down on the table. "Shadow" I was starting to get scared, this made no sense.

I watched as he turned away, reaching into a small cupboard and pulling something out. My uneasiness grew as he faced me again with a strange glint in his eyes. He had a tiny glass vile in his hand that held a pretty blue liquid.

"Drink this, it'll help you relax." I looked at him like he was crazy, a very strong possibility, and shook my head; my voice had mysteriously stopped working. He sighed before, at an inhuman speed, he straddled me and dumped the liquid down my throat. I flailed but it was too late, the cool substance was already in my system.

Shadow didn't get up, but he continued to stare at me. His eyes had a mixture of emotions in them. They still had love in them, and the same longing, but now they had sadness too. I lifted my hands to push him off but he grabbed them and held them above my head in one hand. I stared in fear as he leaned down towards me.

"Don't be afraid," He whispered. "I won't hurt you. I need to tell you something but I can't have you freaking out."

_'Oh yeah, because pinning me down to a table and forcing strange fluids down my throat doesn't freak me out at all!'_

Shadow smiled and caressed my face with his free hand before moving down to kiss my neck, causing me to shiver. He chuckled and sat back.

"Now, I need you to listen and not jump to conclusions. I'm not going to kill you, or anything else that might be running through you mind. I brought you here because of what I need to do to you; I can't have witnesses. I love you Amy, I have since I first saw you. Everything about you if perfect and I want it; I want you." Shadow leaned down again and put his mouth right next to my throat. "I know you want me too; I've seen the way you look at me. And now, we can be together for all eternity."

And with that, he bit me. Pain filled my body and I tried to scream but I still couldn't find my voice. Shadow went back to caressing my face and showered me with kisses as the world started to fade. The pain was dulling and my vision had stopped working, thrusting me into darkness. I went completely numb, and before I lost my hearing I heard Shadow say one last thing.

"I love you."


End file.
